Getting Ready - Van Conversion

Modding the Ody

We travel from Canada to Mexico so need an 'extended urban travel' mod for our van. No kitchen as we like to enjoy the local flavours along the way.

'07 Odyssey Stealth Camper in situ

Campering the 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L is quite simple.

Add bed, with Reflectix insulated foil for curtains and vinyl flooring.
Rear area and passenger front socket for constant on charging.
iPad RAM mount over the stock stereo.
AUX in audio, with lightning audio feed via hidden Belkin Rockstar and 2.4 AMP charging.
LED Puddle lights under sliding doors with convenient lighted switch.
RAM mount on rear of drivers seat.
Bug screens, with magnetic strip, for the rear hatch and sun roof.

Bed
Removed the metal bed frame (shop drawings) from a 1993 Toyota Previa, invert the back two steel bed legs and cut out the areas over the rear seat hinges to fit. Cut the 2 x 14 cedar board to mount, in between and attached to, those inverted legs. This design gives you a nice separation for the aft and forward stowage compartments.

We use specially cut out Reflectix insulated foil and stock shade for the windshield as window curtains. Others use a custom fit windshield blind. https://www.carid.com/2007-honda-odyssey-sun-shades/covercraft-carhartt-uvs100-custom-sunscreens-1187679657.html

2007 Honda Odyssey bed install.

Use a sticker to draw the cut out over the folding seat hinges.

Cedar Board screwed to the inverted legs.

The vinyl flooring is easy to cut and is held in place by a tight fit. This van has vents at the floor so make sure not to heat the rear with the lower vents.

Front legs bolt to a board attached to the floor.
Next model upgrade might include full length legs that attach directly to the floor.

A 4 inch mattress does the job nicely for two.

Adding the two extra swivel legs at the back for safety.

A Plan to reduce the number of tools needed to install this bed would be nice.

Tools you need to install this bed.

Adding USB power ports.

The van needs power for tablet and mobile phone charging in several places.

Front power sockets - passenger - constant on, driver's side - switched.
Hidden power socket, behind dash for iPad charging - switched.
Rear cup holders, passenger and driver's side - constant on.

A simple bypass on the relay for the cigarette lighters will bring them to constant on.

The stock rear socket is left stock (switched). The rear power socket relay is inside of a module so a challenge to bypass. The discussions on the Honda forum did include how to bypass the relay outside of the module, but I decided to leave it stock (switched power).

The Passenger front socket has a relay in the passenger side fuse panel and an easy bypass. That will be my constant on in the front.

For the rear I'll pick up an empty constant on spare fuse outlet on the passenger side fuse panel. This circuit can power the puddle lights as well. I ran an additional fuse to protect the switch and LED puddle lights.

For charging the iPad I'll pick up power from the driver's side front socket (switched) and place the power socket behind the stereo head unit, inside the dash. I had audio noise so ran the power supply ground to the same grounding point as the radio. Noise gone.

Rear power socket, driver side.

Rear power socket passenger side.


These are handy Two USB outlets, 2.1 and 1 Amp-	Emerge Technologies Model #: ETIPADCHG41.

Remove relay for front passenger power socket and bypass. Constant on.

I had trouble imagining where to put the socket so removed the cup holders and the location became obvious.

Further Reading and Videos

The Honda Odyssey forums provide some reading on the subject of running always on power for USB charging.

Rear area take apart https://youtu.be/sqSt0CZgHjY

Nice relay bypass on newer gen model using 2 inches 10 guage solid copper wire with male yellow spade connectors. https://youtu.be/cPoFj3aoBcM

Fuse and Relay panels https://www.autozone.com/repairguides/Odyssey-2007-2008/Fuse-Relay-Boxes-2007/Fuse-Relay-Boxes-2007/_/P-0996b43f80e649d8 shows relay number 5, passenger floor area fuse box, operates the passenger's accessory power socket.

Further Discussion

https://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/25666-switching-12v-accessory-connector-always.html

My post looking for finished pictures. https://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/352759-mod-bed-rear-power-outlets.html

Install notes. https://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/150495-adding-power-outlets-12v-cigarette-5v-usb-110v-ac-2005-odyssey.html

A very detailed description. https://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/207058-modifying-rear-power-outlet-always-key-controlled-acc-2010-a.html

Looking for the easy method. https://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/149409-constant-12v-rear-accessory-jack-there-any-easy-way.html

Further discussion. https://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-2011-2017-odyssey/235897-adding-usb-ports.html

Newer gen install. https://www.odyclub.com/forums/54-2011-2017-odyssey/272682-adding-usb-12v-cig-lighter-port-third-row.html

Adding iPad Lightning Connectivity and RAM Mount on Stock Honda Head Unit

There are no iPad kits available for this van so I will use a Belkin Rock Star with 2.4 amperes 12 VDC to USB charger behind the dash. This will handle charging at iPad amperage, and convert the audio from the iPad to a 3.5mm jack output. I have an audio in port on the Honda stereo using the spare CD input.

The problem with existing kits are the charging amps required for the iPad exceed most kits. My previous vehicle had the iSimple solution and the charging only lasted a year or two before requiring replacement.

I planned to use the Bracketron multi vehicle mounting bracket with RAM mounting gear because it is fairly easy to source. However, the Honda head unit would not work with the Bracktron so a custom bracket (20 guage mild steel) was plasma cut. I bent and drilled the bracket to fit. I ran the bracket long so I could cut it at a desirable point.

Dash take apart video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5bVxP9_kjs

Take apart dash for Bluetooth. https://youtu.be/NEp17L5iVFk

iPad RAM mount install on 2007 Honda Odyssey.

iPhone bracket (less support)

iPad bracket (with support)

Original template with short end.

Plasma cut, 20 gauge, mild steel bracket.

Longer bracket template - needs cutting to fit or compound bend.

2007 Honda Odyssey AUX in adapter - male or female 3.5 mm input.

Puddle Lights

We camp at a lot of State Parks, so pitch black at night. Puddle lights are LED strips inside a clear vinyl hose sealed with aluminum strip support bolted under the sliding doors. This gives us a target to find our van in the dark. My previous install had a remote control on the FOB. The Odyssey install uses a LED lit switch that resides under the seat belt. You need to remove the underside body molding to bolt the lights. Remove the most forward screws in the front wheel well - slide forward and remove.

The puddle lights have a switch that includes an LED on indicator.

Power feed for Puddle lights requires no drilling here.

Small hole drilled here. I disconnected the Air Bags before banging the punch and drilling.

Rear RAM Mount for Netflix and Chill

You could use a standard head rest mounted iPad holder. It was too easy to swap out the bolt on the grab strap and install a RAM Mount.

Bug Screens

Ventilation rocks and keeping the leaves out works great with a no-see-um mesh over the sunroof and another that fits on the open rear hatch. The magnetic strip is the lower strength vinyl with peel back stick. It easily stays in place for sewing. Although you can drive around the campground with these attached, I don't think the magnets will hold on the highway.